'I’m calling it: if you grew up being a cat person, you’ll agree with me on these 10 things.'

As a lifelong cat lady, I can attest to how much my life has been improved by the felines I've surrounded myself with. 

I fell in love with a neighbour's cat Philip when I was eight years old and from the moment I convinced (read: tricked) my parents to adopt our first cat, I’ve never looked back. 

A lot of pet owners don't become 'cat people' until they meet the right cat. There's a lot of anti-cat PR around that suggests that cats aren't as loving and affectionate as dogs. 

Huge scam! This sounds like something a 'dog person' would say!

Every cat owner knows that the best thing about cats is that they are not only ride-or-die for their owner, but every feline comes with a unique personality and set of quirks. 

That being said, there is a universal list of things every cat person knows to be true about their precious fur child.

Dinner time is any time your cat decides.

Every cat is different when it comes to meals: my first cat Simba used to literally know when it hit 5pm on the dot, whereas my second cat Marshmallow simply decided she would meow constantly throughout the day and hope we forget the time.

Meanwhile, my current cats Buffy and Chandler will literally snooze through dinner time and decide basically any time of night when they're ready to eat. Do I oblige every time? Yes, yes I do.

But luckily for me, mealtime is a breeze because of WHISKAS^® Tasty Mix™, the ideal option for the frugal cat parents out there. Coming in two varieties with three flavours in each packet, this cat-approved choice has a huge diversity of delicious flavours, taking the pressure off (and drama out of) dinner time. With so many options on the WHISKAS^® Tasty Mix™ menu, your cat will never tire of one flavour.

Image: Supplied. 

You probably have a word for meal time and your cats know it. For me, I have two words: dinner and biscuits. Dinner is, of course, the formal two times a day meal, often when I wake up and when I get home from work. Whereas 'biscuits' is dropped whenever I want to give my little bubs a special treat for being angels (it happens a lot).

If a cat sits on your lap, you have to cancel your plans.

Thems the rules, as they say. Every cat person knows that if their cat blesses you by sitting on your lap — it's game over. You will never feel this level of pure joy again. 

One time, my rather aloof cat Buffy sat on my lap as I was getting ready for work — this was a huge deal, as she's more of a 'look, don't touch' sort of little lady — and I literally didn't know what to do. 

I texted work that I'd be in late and I have no regrets. It was the best.

Any and every body of water is a drink for your cat. 

If you've ever left a glass of water lying around anywhere, you'll know what I mean. Cats are big believers that sharing is caring and what's yours is definitely theirs.

Your sleeping position will be shaped around your cat. 

I've basically spent my life curving my body around various cats as I sleep. For Marshmallow, she would happily sleep in the middle of my bed, pushing me to the edge of my mattress.

And now I have two cats, I have Buffy at my feet ready to pounce on my rude feet daring to move in the night and Chandler sleeping literally on my head most nights. It's a hazardous way to live but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

A cat sleeping is the perfect time for a photoshoot.

If you check the phone of any self-respecting cat owner, you will be greeted with approx 5000 photos of their cat sleeping. Why do we do it? They look SO CUTE, of course.

Exhibit A: Chandler sleeping never fails to impress (me, specifically). Image: Supplied. 

As soon as your cat has a favourite cat food, they’ll move on to another.

Cats are complicated. One day, they absolutely love one variety of cat food (Monday, the flavour of the house was WHISKAS^® Tasty Mix™ Chicken & Lamb), the next they will act like you're trying to literally poison them. How very dare I assume their love remains for WHISKAS^® Tasty Mix™ Chicken & Lamb on Tuesday. They'd moved onto WHISKAS^® Tasty Mix™ Whitefish & Vegetables. 

This is why it's a MUST to mix it up to appease any fussy cat. Tomorrow I'm anticipating they'll have eyes only for WHISKAS^® Tasty Mix™ Beef & Tuna.

Waking you up at 3am just to 'Hey! Hi! Hello!' is perfectly fine. 

Every cat is afflicted by the dreaded condition: the zoomies. Thoughts and prayers to these cats. 

When I grew up in a two-story house (must be nice!), my Simba would literally run from the downstairs kitchen up the stairs and into my room just so he could meow incessantly and run off when I awoke. It was a fun game. 

I now live in a small apartment but I've still got Buffy running up and down the hall in the dark of night making sounds that can only be described as very cute, but very demonic. Once I awake, her mission is completed. 

You can spend hundreds of dollars on cat toys and they'll prefer a piece of literal garbage.

This is just cat science. It doesn't matter how much money you spend on a luxe cat tower, or a fancy new toy, your cat will be far more impressed with the packaging that it came in. 

I still have the box that my mattress was delivered in because Buffy loves to hide in there for private time and I've kept plastic wrapping on designated areas of the floor for months simply because Chandler likes to sit on it.

And shopping bags? Oh my, what a treat. 

Buffy sat on this grocery bag on my kitchen bench every day for at least six months. Image: Supplied. 

You must stay across the complex politics between your cats at all times.

Okay, if you have more than one cat then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Cats have dynamic social lives, where everyone's relationships are forever changing with each other (not unlike an episode of Love Island). Which basically means: you need to stay aware of what's going on between them to avoid any unnecessary drama. 

For me, I'm acutely aware that Chandler has been trying to steal Buffy's favourite couch position for the last month and she's on the brim of a meltdown about it. There's also been some rising tension around the distribution of WHISKAS^® at dinner time. I'm taking notes and will review at a later date! 

Cats have multiple names at any given time.

You might have been the one who gave your cat their name, but that doesn't mean you actually use it. Cats have multiple names, depending on what phase you're in. 

I call my cat Chandler 'Chandy', but more recently, I refer to him as 'my smoochy boy'.  

Buffy is 'Boof' or simply 'my special gal'.  

Why are we like this?? I don't know, but one thing I do know is that no one needs to hear the songs I sing to my cats when no one else is around. The horror. 

Shop WHISKAS^® Tasty Mix™ from Coles, Pet Circle and select independent grocers.

Feature Image: Supplied.